Sixty-Three

Kian

"You're quiet," I mentioned, breaking the forty-five-minute silence.

Something was bothering my wife. Bears could not telepathically link with their mates and read their thoughts, but we could sense when something was wrong. Gia had been staring through the window with a vacant look in her eyes, not even acknowledging the passing scenery. It was like her mind floated off to someplace else. Somewhere I couldn't follow.

"Gia, baby, is everything all right?" I kept talking, trying to drag her mind back to the present.

She sucked in a breath like she remembered she needed air to breathe.

"Oh, sorry . . . I was daydreaming," she muttered an excuse and shook her head as if her thoughts were too troublesome.

"About?" I prompted, wanting to know what she was thinking. All she had to do was confide in me, and I would help in the best way I could.

This was her chance to share her problems or to lie and keep them bottled up inside. We were mates, and mates were not supposed to have secrets